Hotel Review: Austin Country Inn and Suites

After a great night at the Hyatt Regency, my sister and I moved on for two nights at the Country Inn and Suites. The hotel is located north of downtown Austin in the St. John neighborhood. My sister was thinking about working at a school near the hotel and I though it important that we spend time in the neighborhood.

We booked the trip very last minute. The hotel is a category 3, costing 28,000 Gold Points a night. However, one of the unique benefits of having the Club Carlson Visa Card is that you get the last night free on award nights. Therefore, 28,000 points got us 2 free nights at the Country Inn and Suites. Due to our late booking, the cost for one night was $150; costing us $300 for the stay. Trying to keep the cost low for the trip, I spent my points which were earned by applying for the Club Carlson card. The Cash + Points offer was not available when we booked, but that would have been the option I would have chosen.











The lobby has a homey feel to it:

The check-in was a breeze. They did not recognize my Gold status, they did not thank me stay nor did they ask for a credit card. She just hand us keys and sent us on our way.

The hotel is old and had a funky smell. I could not pin point what it was, but both my sister and I both noticed it.

We were given a room on the third floor at the end of the hallway. This is where the real fun began as we found a surprise in our room. And no it was not a welcome gift or at least I hope it was not a welcome gift!

As you can see, at 62 seconds in, I find ants. Lots and lots of ants in the room. Some of them dead, others limping around and others trying to get out.

We quickly walked back downstairs to the front desk to ask for another room. The front desk attendant was  very apologetic and "upgraded" us to a Queen Suite. The only real difference was a couch. I don't now if a having a couch automatically makes a room a suite, but I'll go with it.



The hotel had a very small gym.

And an outdoor pool. It was very nice to jump in the pool after spending all day in the Texas sun.

The hotel serves breakfast every morning. I did not try it, but my sister did. She said it was average, but adequate.

As I stated here, one of the weirdest things we encountered was the spinning shower head.


               

Cool to look at, but not very practical.

One last compliant was the wireless internet was slow. Almost AOL dial-up slow.

The hotel would not be a place I would stay at again. However, the hotel served it purpose as being close to the school, she wanted to work at. We spent time and got a real feel of the neighborhood especially at night.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints!

 Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com

The Suite Life @ Austin Hyatt Regency

On my recent trip to Austin, I decided to stay at the Austin Hyatt Regency.

The hotel is located off the South Congress Bridge, where one can view the bats at dusk.

The hotel's parking lot/garage is under renovations. One has two options, self-park for $10 a night or valet at $24 a night. I valeted, because the self park option was limited and tight. However, the parking situation was not a surprise to me. There were notices about the lack of parking on the Hyatt website, I was told about the parking situation when I called to book an upgrade and received an email from the hotel a few days before arriving. I applaude Hyatt for their proactive communication.

The reception desk is to the left of the lobby. Check-in was smooth. They welcomed us to the hotel, acknowledged my Platinum status and asked about my parking choice. What was not discussed was our breakfast vouchers. I booked with a AAA rate that provided for breakfast for 2 each day. It wasn't until later that I noticed the lack of vouchers. A quick call to concierge gave me the answer: charge it to the room, it would be removed later.

I decided to use one of my suite upgrades provided to me by my Chase Hyatt Visa for being a platinum member prior to applying.  We were given keys to room 503 and 504.

When we opened the door, my sister and I were pleasantly surprised:

This was my first real suite. So, I was giddy like a child in a candy shop. The suite had two double beds, a living area and two full baths. The suite can turn into a three room suite by the unlocking of this door below. The room next door has a king bed and another full bath turning the suite into a two bedroom, three bath suite.

The views from the room were amazing.

The lobby of the hotel has plenty of places to sit and relax. It was inviting, but also invoked a night club feel at night.

There is additional seating outside on the patio with multiple TVs and fire pits. Great for warm Texas nights.

Also, on the ground level is the gym which is open 24/7. The gym was a good size for the number of rooms in the hotel. Each elliptical and treadmill had its own TVS. The gym was stocked with cold towels, dry towels, headphones and citrus flavored water.

The pool is located outside and opened late.

The hotel has a business center on second floor. The center has four computers, but the price to use was extremely expensive. $6.95 for 15 minutes...exessive.

Breakfast is served in the Southwest Bistro located on the second floor.

As I stated, the AAA rate came with breakfast for two of us. The breakfast buffet was amazing with every option that one could want. I especially liked the fried french toast with the berry compote.

My sister ordered off the menu and got the Austin Eggs Benedict, which she enjoyed:

 

Our bill came to over $50 and was removed, as promised, on my final folio.

The hotel is located on the southside of Austin, but it is a short walk over the bridge to the major tourist bar scene. If walking is not your style, there were always cabs right outside the hotel waiting for fares.

This is was amazing hotel stay. The staff was attentive, the product clean and modern and food amazing. I wish I could have afforded to stay here more than one night.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints!

Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com

Observations from my Recent Trip to Austin

Two weekends ago, I had to fly to Austin to help my baby sister, as I described here. Ultimately, everything worked out well: no major delays, decent hotels, and friendly people. However, like all trips, I learned many things:

       1) Mr. and Mrs. Pee Pee slowly coming to airports
                 
                  In college, I spent a semester roaming Europe, I learned of the phenomenon know as
                  Mr. & Mrs. Pee Pee aka elderly people who you pay to use the bathroom. In return, they
                  ensure the bathroom is cleaned. I haven't seen this model put into place anywhere in
                  the United States.

                  When I got off my flight from DCA and went to the bathroom, I was a little shocked to
                  see a bathroom attendant. He greeted me when I arrived and thanked me for coming on
                  my way out. He had a locked glass box for tips. While this is different from the Mr. Pee
                  Pee model, I fear that airlines and airports, who are on a fee binge, might turn to
                  charging to go number 1 and number 2.

      2) CRJ is a small plane for 2 1/2 hour flight

               

                 Most of the flights between CLT and AUS are operated by regional jets. It was a little
                 cramped height wise. On the other hand, I felt like I had more leg room on these flights
                 than my flights to and from DCA.

      3) Sometimes prepaying for gas make sense

                I made a small mistake. I decided not to prepay for fuel when renting the car. They were
                offering gas at $3.05, I ended up paying $3.30 a gallon. Normally, I don't accept the
                prepay option, because the cost will be taxed making it more expensive.

                I was in a mood, so I really wasn't paying attention. My sister asked me why I didn't take
                the half tank option. "What half tank option?" I said. Supposedly, the rental car attendant
                offered for me to prepay for only half a tank.  I have never been offered the ability to
                only pay for 1/2 tank; only the full tank option.  Is this a new trend?

    4) I love the benefits of Chase Hyatt Visa

                I wrote here about how I used my two free nights at the Tokyo Park Hyatt. Since I was a
                Platinum Member of the Hyatt program prior to applying for the Hyatt Visa, I earned two
                suite upgrades on paid stays as well. I used one of those for a night at the Austin Hyatt
                Regency and was given a two room suite. This was my first suite, so I was kinda blown
                away:

                 

                 The view from a fifth floor suite was beautiful.

 
            5) A+ Apartment Locators is a great service

                     My sister contacted A+ Apartment Locators to help her with the search for
                     an apartment. I was blown away by their service. In essence, Apartment Locators
                     are realtors for people looking for apartments. First, one sits with them in their
                     office to discuss the must haves in an apartment. Then, A+ calls various apartments,
                     on your behalf, to see if they have availability. Finally, they take you to visit the
                     apartments like a realtor does with houses. The kicker, one owes them nothing. A+
                     gets paid by the apartment company once a lease is signed.

                     For my sister, this service was so helpful. When you are moving to a brand new city,
                     knowing which neighborhoods are safe, trendy or overpriced is difficult. Having
                     someone guide you through the process is so helpful. Nick, our A+ representative,
                     was amazing. I would highly endorse him over and over again.

                     I wish DC had a similar service. Shopping for apartment sucks!


              6) The ants didn't even want to stay here

                     My stay at the Country Inn and Suites started out not so well. We arrived in the room
                     and saw a massive quantity of ants by the window and AC unit.

                           

                   The ants had been there for a long time, as many of their friends had passed on to the 

                   other side. The staff got us a new room within minutes and kept on apologizing over

                   the next two days.

                 

                7) Spinning shower head is cool, but not practical

                   Our shower at the Country Inn and Suites had a spinning shower head:

                   

                   It was cool to look at it, but I don't know if it added to the shower experience.
                   Maybe if it had neon lights.

              8) The bats under the Congress Bridge are a must see!

                   Wrote about it here. One of the coolest things we saw on the trip.

              9)  Stubb's Gospel Brunch Overrated?

                    My sister got us a table for Sunday brunch at Stubb's. I was excited to try this
                    place out as everyone talk highly of it. However, brunch was a little overrated.

                   The food was not very good and then ran out of it. We arrived shortly after 11am 

                   and were seated quickly. They took our drink orders and then told to go outside 

                   for food.

                     The buffet was hotel brunch quality at best with someone carving brisket, chicken, 

                     and  sausage at the end of the table        

                    The real draw must be the band, which is downstairs. There are table down there, 

                    but reservations must be made weeks ahead of time.

                    I brunch did not impress me. They ran out of food. Did not replenish stuff in time and
                    it was a little overpriced. I think the brunch at the Hyatt was better:

     

                
Overall, the trip was great. My only regret was I wish I had more time to plan things to do.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com